Our Blog

We haven't forgotten about you!

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:31:56 -0300

Hello everyone,

we just wanted to check in with all of you to let you know that things here are going well. As the 14th gets closer we’ve gotten busier and busier with literally not even 5 minutes to sit down and catch our breath! We’ve been trying to get as much time with our Brazilian family and friends as possible. We’ve had a lot of people really bless us in a lot of ways as we prepare for our departure. But we’ve been very clear with people that this is not goodbye, its more of a “see you later.” We already know in our hearts that we’ll be back here to visit whenever possible.

Anywho, once we’re back in the US of A and have a minute to catch our breath we’ll be sure to bring you up to speed how things leading up to our departure went. Not to mention of course talking with all of you in person!

Thank you all so much for your continued support, love, and prayers. We’ll see you soon!

†

Patrick & Rachel

House of Hope Bike-a-thon!

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:34:22 -0300

Last weekend was a BIG day for the House of Hope. The first ever “Pedalada da Esperança” (House of Hope Bike-a-thon) was held and it was a BIG success!!!

This event was held to get the House of Hope name made known in BIG public ways. With many sponsors backing the event (including some BIG names) we definitely got a lot of people’s attention. Before the event took place, several billboards all over the city had the House of Hope logo and all the information on it as well as 40 that’s right 40 city buses had our banner on the back for everyone to see. It was awesome! (see photos below)

To participate people had to either buy a Pedalada da Esperança shirt or bring 2 kg of non-perishable food items. More than 300 people signed in officially, but by the photos we’re certain that not everybody actually signed in because there were a LOT of those blue shirts on the street!

We rented a double-decker bus loaded with speakers blasting fun music and decorated with House of Hope information for everyone passing by to see. The bus lead the “parade” of cyclists on 10 k route through the city. It was pretty amazing!

The House of Hope name is getting bigger and bigger every day. The sponsors that helped us with this event are still coordinating some awesome things that are going to bless the House of Hope’s socks off! We’re really excited to see what will happen next.

October is Kids’ Month!!!

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:58:58 -0300

That’s right, all month we’ve been celebrating the lives of all “our” kids at the House of Hope. October 12th is the official holiday here in Brazil. Its celebrated like Mother’s or Father’s day, except there are a LOT more presents and parties.

We’ve had a lot of people from the community come forth wanting to bless the kids in many different ways. Several people came to the House of Hope with presents, food, and fun! We had clowns, dancing, games, a pool party, even a trampoline! Normally we only have one big party every year, but because we’ve had so many people come forward we’ve had parties about once or twice a week since the 12th!

Last week the kids were invited by the owner to an indoor play park to play, eat, and party for 3 hours! The kids got their fill on sugary goodness, soda, and plenty of time running wild in the play park.

Today they’re off again to yet another party, who knows what’s in store next!!?!!

With our departure getting closer and closer its been a real blessing for us to celebrate the kids here at the House of Hope. Although we’re busy with preparations for a BIG fundraiser that will happen on November 7th, we’ve been trying to get as much time with the kids as possible. They really are like a family to us, every moment is truly a treasure.

Traffic School!

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:27:03 -0300

That’s right everyone, its never too early to learn the rules of the road! This week the kids at the House of Hope learned about when and how its safe to cross the street. They acted out various scenarios and had a practice street including a crosswalk, stop and go lights, and a classy pink car! They even had one of the kids play the role of a traffic officer with a whistle and everything. (our little officer wasn’t shy about blowing the whistle either!)

A good time was had by all and now all our children at the House of Hope are a little bit safer now that they know how to play it safe when crossing the street!

A Letter from Patrick & Rachel

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 08:05:19 -0300

Dear Friends and Family,

As you know, when we moved to Brazil, we committed 3 years to the House of Hope and to the Church of the Holy Spirit. We didn’t know what God would call us to after 3 years, and so we’ve always been open to Him calling us to commit another 3 years, or more. Because we will reach the end of our initial 3 years at the end of 2010, we’ve been spending a lot of time seeking the Lord for direction for our next step. We have also spent time with John & Fabi praying about what the Lord has for us, them, and the House of Hope in the future.

After much prayer, we feel that the Lord has confirmed in various ways that He is calling us back to Charleston. This has been a very difficult and emotional decision for us, because we love the people here so much (especially “our kids” at the House of Hope). But we have a peace that the Lord is leading us in a new direction.

The exciting part for us, is that we feel that God has given us so many ideas and dreams for continuing to support the House of Hope from the US. We are already working on ways to expand the child sponsorship program to the US and also hope to open some doors for the House of Hope sewing & ceramic cooperatives to export to the US (currently they only export to Europe). In many ways, we are beginning to see long-term how we can better support the House of Hope while being based in the US.

We have not set a date yet for our return, but our visas expire on December 17th, 2010. So, we will be leaving sometime in mid-December. Although we have only 3 remaining months here in Brazil, we are 100% committed to the House of Hope and our ministry here and will continue to send updates on what God’s doing here in the “now”.

We want to share this news with you all now so you can join us in prayer, especially during the next few months. Specifically, Please be praying for:
1. Strength and Focus to remain committed to our current ministry until December
2. The House of Hope staff as we pass on many of our responsibilities
3. Buyers for our car and household items here in Brazil
4. Jobs, housing, and transportation when we return
5. Financial provision for our move and ministry to come
6. A smooth emotional transition for us and for our Brazilian family
7. Open doors for HoH stuff in the US
8. Peace in the process, Faith in the unknowns, and Joy in the midst of a lot of tears

Thank you all so much for walking along side us in this journey! We look forward to sharing our final months with you through emails and our blog. We also look forward to seeing many of you soon and sharing our future dreams for the House of Hope!

Much Love,
Patrick and Rachel